how good do you think...

[Wayne]

...these unused, full, year old, mixed but unopened for a year bottles of RA-4 developer and Blix are?

I know, try them. I'm going to try them, but I wanted to give some of you a chance for immortality for being either fabulously right or gloriously wrong in your guesses about whether its still good.

 

[1kgcoffee]

My mixed kodak chemicals are still going strong after a year. RA-4 is wonderful

 

[koraks]

What color is the developer? That's the one that'll likely go off first. If it's still close to its original color, you're likely fine. The blix most likely works more or less like fresh.

 

[BMbikerider]

I no longer process RA4 but I found that mixed RA4, especially Kodak had outstanding capabilities with regard to long life storage. So long as the colour does not go past a pale straw colour then you are OK to go. Even when it is in use and kept in a NOVA processor I have not found the need to completely replace the working chemicals can be as long as 18 months...plus....so long as adequate and regular replenishment is done after each session. I used the ratio of 100cc per 800square inches of paper.

 

[WilmarcoImaging]

Wayne, what material are the bottles? Better chance for freshness if the bottles are PET (beverage aka soda bottles) vs. HDPE (milk jug or traditional brown jug).

 

[koraks]

Really? I've tried storing Fuji RA4 concentrate in PET bottles. That didn't end well.

 

[Wayne]

I use only PET for mixed stock and working solutions

 

[Wayne]

The PET doubters lose this round. Everything worked fine. Actually the blix was in HDPE because I didn't have 20 liters worth of PET when I mixed this up a year ago. But now its in PET too.

 

[koraks]

Re my experience with PET and Fuji Hunt RA4 developer concentrate: it dissolved the bottles resulting in the developer simply draining out of the bottles through the bottom. I sure did lose that round I can tell you.

 

[ericdan]

da

Re my experience with PET and Fuji Hunt RA4 developer concentrate: it dissolved the bottles resulting in the developer simply draining out of the bottles through the bottom. I sure did lose that round I can tell you.

damn, I've never heard of that before.
Aren't the bottles the Kodak chemicals come in PET?
Have you had that with B&W chemicals at all?

 

[koraks]

I don't know about the Kodak stuff. And no, I've never had this happen with any other photo chemical.

 

[Wayne]

The Kodak bottles are HDPE, as are most concentrate solutions.

 

[Wayne]

Re my experience with PET and Fuji Hunt RA4 developer concentrate: it dissolved the bottles resulting in the developer simply draining out of the bottles through the bottom. I sure did lose that round I can tell you.

I suspect a problem with your bottles but not the PET unless it was a faulty batch. I still have Ilfochrome 3 part P3 bleach solutions in PET bottle that have been fine for many years now, even through several freeze-thaw cycles when I leave my house unheated in winter. I don't know how the chemicals are, and may never find out, but the bottles are fine.

 

[lantau]

The Kodak bottles, as Wayne says, are HDPE. But a very thick walled and sturdy type. They can't be squeezed.

Mixed colour chems will be fine in PET bottles that I know. But some concentrates may be highly alkaline enough to damage them over time.

Of course we recently had a thread about demin. Water jugs (PE) leaking shortly after being bought. Obviously everything can be made in different quality grades. I don't know if those highly flimsy (once opened and depressurised) 2.5L soda bottles are made from PET. But if so I wouldn't use them for storing chemicals. I consider the handling of them hazardous with just Fanta in them.

 

[koraks]

I suspect a problem with your bottles but not the PET unless it was a faulty batch.

They were different types of PE bottles from grocery products. I use them all the time for all sorts of chemistry, but they obviously don't mesh well with RA4 concentrate.

 

[WilmarcoImaging]

HDPE containers used by Kodak in the case of C-41 chemicals have the symbols <2> for HDPE and also the letters "JRB", on both bleach and developer concentrate bottles. Bearing in mind that multilayer HDPE packaging is common, Google comes up with JRB Packaging Company in Jiangsu Province, China. http://en.jrbpack.com/intro/4.html

The Kodak label on the bleach container indicates "Made in China". Finally, the Flexicolor containers are foil sealed from the factory. It is not known if a covering gas, commonly used in packaging, is used. A conclusion that can be drawn is that the HDPE containers used for Kodak Flexicolor chemistry are not the same as the milk jugs in the neighborhood grocery. Because the Kodak containers are full and foil sealed, and likely use multi-layer plastic technology, long term storage in an HDPE container is possible. Unlike grocery store milk jugs, or traditional brown storage jugs.

Action that can be taken by the above information is to use the most oxygen-impervious packaging reasonably available, for chemistry storage. Glass, "wine bags" and PET are three good materials in terms of their oxygen resistance. The behavior of the materials in terms of a package (cost, weight, availability, form factor, ease of use and re-use) influence the photographer's choice of storage container. I choose PET based on the balance of factors in my situation. Others may choose differently.

I have no experience with RA-4 or E-6 chemistry or packaging.

 

[thuggins]

da

damn, I've never heard of that before.
Aren't the bottles the Kodak chemicals come in PET?
Have you had that with B&W chemicals at all?

If you do a quick search on this site you will find several threads discussing PET being damaged by concentrated chemicals. E-6 Color Developer will definitely eat thru PET in short order. That being said, all the other E-6 concentrates seem to do well in PET.

Every kit I've seen uses HDPE for the concentrates.